The Portland daily press., 1887-08-01
THAT MORTGAGE.
BY SUSAN TEALL PERRY.
lExaniner.l

by SUSAN rEALL PERRY.
GExaminer.l
1t was tho time for spring cleaning. Mrs.
Brewster has gone into the best room to
look about and see what wanted doing. AS
she threw open the blinds, she heard robin
in the maple tree. 1t was good sign, her
grandmother used to say, to have a robin
come and build her nest before ones door.
1t had been long winter, one of the most
severe that the New England inhabitants
was well appreciated If it had not been for
that mortgage how happy Mrs. Brewster
would have been that morning But as she
looked out of the window upon the resur-
recting earth, she exclaimed:
80, dear, there is always something to him
der the full enjoyment of anything in this
world; at least some folks are ALWAYS
weighed down with burdens they cannot lift
After making q thorough survey of the
room, she passed into the large farm kitchen
Il brought you letter, Mis- Brewster. |
thought as how | was down to the village. I
might as well bring up yourn and Mr. Hull's
folks, mail. It's such hurrying times now
20 iif rs you nINe Al t1ey can do to home
ster exclaimed, as she lookedup and saw the
gray haired farmer standing In the door. with
the spring sunshine falling all about him.
a pleasant day, isn't it? Thank you for
bringing the letter.
mer. Our wimmen folks wanted / should
put some garden seed in to-day, but | told
EN- that one swallow doesn't make a sum-
tIsb Springs i de Tsdd crtteE coqget
got her, she hain't there"
Mr.. Hawkins passed out of the door laugh
ing heartily at his own wit. Mrs. Brewster
tore open the envelope. ITS from Mariet-
Ia, she said. She sat down in the first
chair she could find and read the letter.
There's plenty of good times in the
world. but like Glory McQuirk, I'm nevet
in EN- Marietta and her folks are going or
the sea shore fol-. the summer. That's the
reason she hasn't written beforf She's had
dressmaker in the house for h. onth
making dresses for her ap6 de-
clare, Marietta does hav
sss Va sslsIss si,sr husband who SAT
by the kitchen stove mending harness. He
was one of those men who never make re-
pairs until just as they are absolutely needed.
Il suppose, then, they are well at Mariet-
ta's." he remarked, by way of a rejoinder.
'You know Marietta never thinks she en-
joys very good health" his wife spoke up in
aquick, energetic tone of voice. TITS for
tunate for her that she doesn't have to work
as / do; if she did, she would have been in
above pleased with the match, but you never
can tell how men are going to turn out. Some
of them are successes, but more of them are
failures"
After she had finished speaking, she
climbed up on chair in the buttery and be-
gan her house cleaning in the descending
scale, reaching up to clean off the top-most
shelf. The door was partly open, and from
her eyrie in the buttery her husband heard
her voice above the CHATTER of dishes and
pans:
81 declare, I'm perfectly discouraged. It's
aterrible strain on a woman to be the wheel
horse and do more than her share of the
hauling and pulling What are we going to
city boarders again this summerY
Her husband kept on mending the broken
strap, making no reply but when his wife
got down to the middle shelf, she stepped
from the shelf, and standing beside her hus-
band, said:
Human Brewster, what are we going to
do about that mortgage? You know it will
be foreclosed this fall if we don't pay it up
There's time enough, Mary Ann; don't
worry SO seven months yet, and by that
time something will surely turn up"
That's what you always say, Luman, but
| should think by this time you would find
out that things don't turn up, unless we go
to work and make them"
The unfinished harness fell in sections on
the kitchen floor. as Mr.. Brewster arose from
his chair, after he had finished speaking.
But he gathered the pieces together, and
went out to the barn. Mary Ann was in,
what he mentally designated, zone Of her
tantrums." He always took refuge in the
barn when the subject of that mortgage was
agitated.
AS Mrs. Brewster went back to the soap
and sand and the pantry shelves, she said
aloud:
"WelI, like Mrs Poyser, in Adam Bede.
I've had my say. After all, perhaps I'd bet
terlnot have said it. 1t doesn't do any good
and fear am falling into habit of nag
ging,, which desplse in any, woman. But
when folks feelings are working, bottled up
as mine have been so long, sometimes they
will burst open in spite of everything done
to keep them down. Folks oftentimes are
brought into contingencies in life that they've
got to get out of or be vanquished, and the
only way to pay off that mortgage is to take
signed, Of course. But Luman did talk so
well about the mines, and everything looked
so clear. Poor fellow! He did have hard
time of it, and that terrible mountain fever
that took such a hold of him! There's
good deal of luck and chance about that sort
of business anyway. read in Miss Corne-
las magazine, last summer, story about
Gunnison County, where Luman was. 1t
Poverty Gulch,' lying side by side, and
man going out to seek his fortune was just
as likely to go up one side as the other. How
could Human tell, when there was no guide
board to show him which was which,"
Luman Brewster looked at the matter of
the mortgage from his standpoint in the
barn much more favorably. He did wish
Mary Ann wouldn't worry about that mort
gage. Ii she would only wait awhile, things
would shape themselves and the mortgage
be paid, he felt sure. Not long afterwards
he heard his wife's voice calling him in the
pleasantest of tones. Mary AIMS "tan-
trums'' had worked themselves off, just as
they always did.
the house, there's robin in the maple tree.
Itsithe first robin I've seen this spring, and
brings good luck"
Didn't tell yso,n it would come out all
"There's Hepsy Brookins !" exclaimed Mrs.
Brewster at that moment. 1.-THE very per-
son want to see above all others. Go out
to the gate and hitch her horse, Luman"
We'll, Hepsy,. if | ever was glad to see
anobody In my life, I'm glad to see you," and
the lady kissed the mild, pleasant face of
the young girl, as she came up the garden
walk. "YOu haven't engaged anywhere for
the summer, have you?" she asked.
mo, hain't. Mis- Paulding spoke to me
a spell ago about going there, but l hain't
''You must promise to come to me again
this summer, Hepsy I've decided to take
those city boarders this season."
Why. Mis- Brewster, you was clean beat
out last fall. and you said you'd never take
'em again for no price"
II was tired out and wilted down then.
Hepsy, but now I'm fresh again. Pm GO
ing to send letter to New York tomorrow
morning"
Mrs Brewster spoke with as great enthu-
slasm about taking the city b0arders as if it
were as pleasant a circumstance in her life
as her trim sister Marietta's going to the sea-
shore was in hers.
Busy weeks followed, and the time came
all too soon for the arrival of the city board
ers The night before they came Mrs.
Brewster went to the village store to get
certain piece of cretonne to cover an old,
fashioned chair. After she had made her
purchase and gone out, a man in the store
spoke up:
rs it true that Mrs. Brewster's going to
take those city boarders again? My wife
said she was tuckered out last fall with
EN-"
yes" replied the proprietor, who was
weighing out some tea. "You know Brew
ster has mortgage on his place: put it on
when he went out to Colorado to the mines.
Old TOmpkins has the mortgage; he's am
old sl1infint, and will foreclose this fall"
''1ll wager that Mary Ann Brewster will
be too sharp for him. She'll find way out
of that mortgage, unless I'm very much mis-
taken. She's the smartest woman know.
II she'd only married man half as smart as
herself, they'd skinned the moon; )" and the
last speaker turned toward the old farmer
who had just put his basket of butter and
eggs on the counter.